Occitania Region of France

Something a bit more personal today, I was born in this region of France that you can see in the video, not far from Medieval castles, fortified towns.

The spiritual essence of the Cathars still vibrating in caves and waters, and also in impressive historical sites, breath taking nature, lovely beaches and unsolved mysteries.

Click on the video to visit the land of Oc and explore its many attractions.

I just came upon this video on Pinterest and of course had to share!

One of the few Cathars artifacts from Montségur now in a private collection in Toulouse.

Château de Chambord, France

  Château de Chambord, below.

  Château de Chambord, above.

Return of the equestrian show in a few weeks! Go and discover the history of François 1er..

Most castles in France have these kinds  of spectacle, all amazing, a real treat!

Click on the image to be directed to the URL.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

 

This is a picture from 1856 of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

For some reason I keep finding without looking old photographs of painters in my path.
Ingres was born in Montauban, France, his family moved to my hometown of Toulouse when he was a child,  A great painter, Ingres could have made a career as a musician., he was second violin in the "Orchestre du Capitole" in Toulouse, in his early teens.

He was so talented in the sphere of music that he became a legend in many ways,  the phrase "violon d'Ingres" in French, is a reference to a second talent in an individual that is equal to the first, an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.
He was among students of the school formerly known as "École des Beaux-Arts" in Toulouse from 1791 to 1796 where he also learned architecture, sculpting,  etc...

★ Trivia,  believe it or not I went to the same school (for only a year though), architecture was a mandatory course among others and honestly it was not my cup of tea! 😁 I recall having to sketch an architectural version of a bench and one guy sitting next to me in the class helped me make sense of it that day! I owe him a passing grade! I don't remember his name but recall he was from the famous medieval city of Carcassonne and was taking the train back and forth every weekend! 

The Last Song, 09/11

 

Image by Ben Lee  

 

There is a story that came into my mind this morning, a story I shared long ago with many, I even remember the title I gave the anecdote at the time: "The last song."

While living in New York City I had a canary that was not yellow, cranberry pink with brownish feathers, very pretty but he would not sing.
A few days after 09/11, I was getting ready to go food shopping, there was a televised ceremony to honor the victims and families ; Maya Angelou and many more were present, a lady started to sing and suddenly my canary begin to sing too, in a huge voice that even topped the voice of that singer! It sounded so deep and so unusually strong that it almost scared me, it was like he could feel the deep raw emotion of the moment so strongly!

"Berry " that was his name, never sang again, it was his first and last song!